My 5th gear won't engage on my ALH what could it be

MAXRPM

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00 Jetta and 99.5 Golf, 2015 Passat TDI,BMW 2
My 2000 jetta daly driver decided not to give me 5th gear anymore, Jetta has .658 taller 5th gear installed like 3 years ago,, issue started out about 3 weeks ago when 5th gear was getting hard to shift into,,but today it gave up,, is it the tower on top of the tranny that needs adjustment? or need to check my taller 5th gear syncro???no grinding noise or nothing on the tranny, this car does not see any racing at all, and easy smooth shifting has been perfomed every time is being driven by me, , for some reason I do not know if it is me that i feel that the travel (play) in neutral goes more toward the reverse now than 5th gear side,,and I am just guessing that is why I am not getting enough play towards my 5th gear side,,maybe it is just my feeling that is deciving me.

any comments and advice would help me a great deal cause I have a long trip in 2 days and hopefully it is something to do with the shifter cable, tower on the tranny or any other quick fix .. Planning to get on it first thing in the morning,,,,txs ahead for your replies.
 

jimbote

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I'd pull the fifth gear pan and have a look...could be several things but I'm guessing something was not installed correctly during the fifth gear swap....some possible causes:
*fifth gear shift fork pivot hold down bolts backed out
*synchro detent key springs out of place
*shift fork piece loose or completely fallen off (this is the little piece that bolts to the shifter arm and fits around the fork)
 

PeterV

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2000 Jetta 5 sp.
You have plastic parts attaching the cables to the shift mech. you have a 12 year old car just think of the thousands of shift the car has had to make. A realignment of the cables is needed. There is a how to for that in wingnuts thread.

How many miles on the car?
 

MAXRPM

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car has 190K on it, I am going to check the how to and see, txs,
 

Dieselgeek

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You might have stripped out a cable end on the upper or engine side shift bracket.
 

MAXRPM

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You might have stripped out a cable end on the upper or engine side shift bracket.

Jim, can you pls expand on this, which cable is it, txs ahead,,,. I see nothing wrong with the syncro at 5th gear, tried to pull it out, and that sucker is stuck, puller was not able to do it, I am going to try to heat it up, I still want to check the syncro to see if it is in one pc...
 

NewTdi

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Robert, your car is fast enough; you don;t need to use the 5th!
 

MAXRPM

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Robert, your car is fast enough; you don;t need to use the 5th!

This is not my golf is my daly driver Jetta, but it sucks going on the freeway only on 4th gear rpm are so high going around 65 mph, close to hitting 3k rpms, now i feel the pain for those driving with auto trannies on the ALH, no wonder they take a hit on mpgs
 

oldpoopie

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Robert, no leaks from the trans, right? If it gets low, 5th gets starved.
 

Matt-98AHU

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Could by the 5th gear synchro hub collar. Not the synchro itself, but the whole hub that engages the gear.

I had a '99 New Beetle recently that had both the hub and the engagement teeth on the 5th gear wear to the point where it would not stay in gear anymore. You could hold it into 5th gear, but the moment you removed your hand from the lever, it popped back into neutral.

Replacing the hub as well as the 5th gear itself fixed it. Got a used 5th gearset for reasonable money from another member and bought the hub new from my local dealer (retail is over $300, I got a hookup for a fair bit less than that...)

Part number: 02J 311 241 D

If the linkage itself is OK, definitely worth taking the transmission pan off and having a look at the 5th gear, removing the engagement hub and looking at the points that engage the engagement teeth on the gear.
 

AndyBees

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Silver 2003 Jetta TDI, Silver 2000 Jetta TDI (sold), '84 Vanagon with '02 ALH engine
I don't think your gear is worn out (syncro sleeve, hub, brass syncro ring, etc.). If something is wrong there, I tend to agree with Jimbote's comments.

Based on your comments in Post #6, you have removed the cover for inspection. Remove the shifting cables on top and see if it will pop in and out of 5th gear below by hand. Can you see that the inner and outer springs that hold the three keys are still in place.

Did you install the taller 5th gear, or was the work done by someone else? The reason I ask, if you are not familar with the procedure and do not have the correct tools, you can damage the assembly very easy!

Was there a new bearing installed at the time of changing out the 5th gear?

EDIT: A collar (syncro sleeve) from a gasser tranny will work!
 
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MAXRPM

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I could not take my car to vegas,I wanted it, but I was not able to fix it in time,,,Justin, the car had oil, and I even went and changed the tranny oil 3 weeks ago when it was getting hard to engage to 5th gear,, Now I believe there is something wrong with the synchro, cause I looked really careful on the oil cover and I discovered one of the tabs that holds the circlip on the synchro was laying on the cover, so now I must take it apart.

I installed the taller 5 th gear on my other car (Golf), not this one, but this is how I learned from my friend the mechanic who did it in my Jetta.. the problem that I will have is, once I pull the synchro out, I would not know how to assemble it back, due to the fact that I have done 5th gear intallation in about 3 diffrent cars but only pulling the whole gear and synchro together, never took a synchro apart, so now I need to learn how to assemble it.

Does anyone has a aetka or a how to put together a synchro??? Txs again for all your advice.
 
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AndyBees

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You need the proper tools........i.e., the Torx bit for the two large center screws and puller(s) at a minimum.

Here a few photos of a 2000 Jetta TDI tranny........5th gear (comments at top of photos)

The outer spring clip has been removed in this photo, everything else is in place.....gear is in neutral.


In this photo, the syncro sleeve is fully engaged (in gear). At top center of the photo you can see the "back" retaining spring. Also, you can see one of the three Keys being removed (not exactly an easy task).


In this photo you can see that the syncro assembly has been removed (gear, syncro sleeve, brass syncro ring and syncro hub). I used a "customized" Three-jaw puller to remove he syncro hub. If you try to pull on the gear from the back, 100% assurance you will chip the side of at least one tooth.


Gear assembly
Left to right, syncro hub, syncro sleeve, syncro brass ring and gear.


In this photo, you can see one of the springs on the left with the three Keys


Gear with syncro brass ring


Gear assembly with the syncro sleeve in neutral on the Hub


Here you can see the syncro sleeve is fully engauged "in gear" Also, notice that the outer spring is in place and the three Keys can be seen.


Close-up of the assembly showing the three Keys and the outer spring


Here is a pic of one spring and the three Keys. The thin part of the key goes toward the tranny case. It is important to know that the inner spring is in the correct position (holding each of the Keys). The springs go between the two raised areas on the Keys providing tension on them, thus the snap when the assembly is pushed into gear.



I used a customized "Two-jaw" puller to remove the smaller gear!

I hope this helps!
 
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Matt-98AHU

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Nice photos!

I've found it easier to assemble the hub and engagement collar (plus related bits) with it off the car. Get the spring clips and 3 "keys" installed on the hub, the slide the collar on from the back (the direction it normally travels to disengage 5th gear). Once it's all together as an assembly, it's easy enough to reinstall over the gear and synchro. Just mind the nubs on the synchro, they line up with gaps in the hub (you can kind of see that in Andy's second to last photo).
 

MAXRPM

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Sure it is going to help, before I went to Vegas trying to fix the car in a rush, I took out the synchro sleeve, the spring clip with 2 keys the other one was laying on the cover, all those things was taken out very easy with my hand a scew driver,,,, the synchro hub is stuck in there,, I am thinking that I have to heat that sucker up then use a the puller to pull the whole thing together with the gear and all, what do you think? I don't see any other way for me to pull them out without heating it up.

By the way great pics, txs a lot.
 

AndyBees

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EDIT: The Syncro Hub is not exactly stuck ..........it is a very tight press-fit! That is the case with any tranny!

As I stated, pulling the complete assembly will most likely result in a chipped gear tooth.

I "customized" an el-cheapo puller purchased from the China Outlet (Harbor Frieght) to fit in the wider slots of the hub. I used a bench grinder to cut away material on the jaws of the puller to make it fit. I did the same with a two jaw puller for the other gear.

I installed the bolt to almost bottom for the head of the puller to push against. That is something you have to work with and be careful not to screw-up the threads or bolt hole.

If you have a heat tool for gears.........go for it! Using a propane torch will be of no use.
 
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MAXRPM

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EDIT: The Syncro Hub is not exactly stuck ..........it is a very tight press-fit! That is the case with any tranny!

As I stated, pulling the complete assembly will most likely result in a chipped gear tooth.

I "customized" an el-cheapo puller purchased from the China Outlet (Harbor Frieght) to fit in the wider slots of the hub. I used a bench grinder to cut away material on the jaws of the puller to make it fit. I did the same with a two jaw puller for the other gear.

I installed the bolt to almost bottom for the head of the puller to push against. That is something you have to work with and be careful not to screw-up the threads or bolt hole.

If you have a heat tool for gears.........go for it! Using a propane torch will be of no use.



Txs for your advice, I just want to tell you that this my first car that I am taking the synchro apart, 3 different TDI's that I installed taller 5th gear the whole gear with synchro were pulled together with ease of course with the puller and gear was intact no chip, this bugger is stuck, and I will follow your advice to pull ithe synchro with a puller, I can custom one I have a grinder here so I can work on that..
 

AndyBees

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Very good! I hope you get it off without too much effort!
 

MAXRPM

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Although I have to put one of the key which happened to be on the oil pan, got to put in place to hold the circlip, stick shift still is not engaging even without the synchro sleeve, circlip and fork, is that normal? or my problem is the shifter cable? I would think the stick would go into 5th like it was engaged, am I right?
 

MAXRPM

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txs Justin I am going to try that.
 

MAXRPM

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I finally started working on it, it is not engaging even without the synchro sleeve out, there is someting obstructing the travel to 5th gear, I went on top of the tranny and tried to engage it manually and it's not going in,, shifter cables are great, it probably be something inside the tranny, hopefully not! I wanted to pull out the shifter tower from the top of the tranny but decided not to, what could this be?
 
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jimbote

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do you still have the pan off?....if so leave the shifter in neutral (cables disconnected) and see if you can move the fifth gear shift rod in and out freely...if you can then something is going on with the tower/shaft if not then you may have a problem with the internal linkage....ive seen the circlips that hold the linkage "leaves" together come off ...when this happens the shift shaft "dog" will hang between the "leaves"
 

MAXRPM

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do you still have the pan off?....if so leave the shifter in neutral (cables disconnected) and see if you can move the fifth gear shift rod in and out freely...if you can then something is going on with the tower/shaft if not then you may have a problem with the internal linkage....ive seen the circlips that hold the linkage "leaves" together come off ...when this happens the shift shaft "dog" will hang between the "leaves"
I will try and report back, Txs Jimbo
 

terrydtdi

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Bringing this old thread back up.

I just installed new shifter bushings from Dieselgeek, trans shifted fine beforehand just a little sloppy. Then when I went to adjust the linkage everything worked smoothly except 5th gear. I'm having the same problem as above. I've released the cables at the top of the transmission and not able to engage 5th by hand. I'm pulling the cover off this weekend to see if I'm able to see any issues.

Does anybody know what the result was with MAXRPM's issue?
 

U4ick

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^^^^^^ THIS!!! ^^^^^^

This is my biggest Pet Peeve about auto forums. 😡

If you're going to start a thread about YOUR problem, and ask other people to take time out of their lives and their problems, to help you with YOUR problem, then at the very least MAN UP and post a resolution about YOUR problem.........not only as a courtesy for the people that were helping you, but as a courtesy for all the people from the future that will be reading your thread for a resolution for their problem. Don't just vanish without a trace like a punk kid !!!!
 

jmodge

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Bringing this old thread back up.

I just installed new shifter bushings from Dieselgeek, trans shifted fine beforehand just a little sloppy. Then when I went to adjust the linkage everything worked smoothly except 5th gear. I'm having the same problem as above. I've released the cables at the top of the transmission and not able to engage 5th by hand. I'm pulling the cover off this weekend to see if I'm able to see any issues.

Does anybody know what the result was with MAXRPM's issue?
He is still on the site and you could dm him to update this. I had problems with shift tower bushing that did this. They didn't appear loose moving them by hand but when I had someone shift it as I watched it was shot. I think it may have been Jokilia who outlined some internal trans problem with the selector also
 

AndyBees

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Seems to me this Old Thread has a lot of good information! Why not bring up an old thread? When an old Thread is brought back there's a notification sent to those who have their settings as such. So, those who helped in the past are notified.

Maybe the guy is still working his problem? Maybe he's asked about his problem in different Automotive Forum. Maybe he's struggling with a personal issue.

This is the best VW TDI forum on the Internet. And, it is far better than those laughable FB Groups.

EDIT: Well, I never realized your comment was too/about MAXRPM. So, yes, he should come back and update us. He was on here this past Thrusday.
 
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terrydtdi

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Gents,

Sometimes I diligently work on something spending a lot of time and once you get whatever it is worked out, you can get busy with your life and work and just don’t follow back up. It’s probably happened to me. Just got to give MAXRPM some time, he will see the notification.
 

jmodge

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Gents,

Sometimes I diligently work on something spending a lot of time and once you get whatever it is worked out, you can get busy with your life and work and just don’t follow back up. It’s probably happened to me. Just got to give MAXRPM some time, he will see the notification.
I dm’d you about those glass lenses, did you sell them?
 
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